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Mary Carmichael

In the last couple of weeks, two new papers have had genetics enthusiasts buzzing: one a study that turned up 95 gene variants linked to cholesterol levels, and the other a similarly designed study of personality traits that turned up no genes at all. There must be a reason the findings came out so differently.

The American Cancer Society has just launched a new nationwide print and online ad campaign to raise funds for a program that screens disadvantaged women for breast and cervical cancer. This does not sound controversial until you look at one of the ads.

Will increased regulation mean that at-home genetic tests will no longer be available to consumers? As rumors swirl about imminent action from the Food and Drug Administration, our writer wonders if she should hurry up and test her DNA.

In my weeklong quest to decide if I should have a genetic test, I now knew what I could expect to learn. But how was I going to feel about the results if I went forward and got them? Would I be able to trust them (and should I)?

Popular Web outlet ScienceBlogs is still trying to recover from a botched corporate sponsorship with Pepsi. But while its bloggers slowly return to work, ScienceBlogs is also expanding a noncommercial deal with academic institutes that raises questions about what "editorial integrity" really means.

Malaria kills a million people a year, most of them kids and pregnant women. Why can’t we stop it? Here are some surprising conclusions—including pointed criticisms of current relief efforts as “quick fixes.” Plus, like the best infectious-disease lit, it’s a real creepfest.

Remember that study in the journal Science from last week linking a whole bunch of genes—including unexpectedly powerful ones—to extreme old age in centenarians? NEWSWEEK reported that some of outside experts thought it sounded too good to be true, perhaps because of an error in the way the genes were identified that could cause false-positive results.

Parents need not worry that the measles, mumps, and rubella injection will increase their children’s risk of autism, but kids given a vaccine that also protects against chicken pox have a slightly higher risk of developing febrile seizures, the scary if ultimately harmless phenomenon that accompanies a bad fever.

Any given antidepressant tends to help only about a third of patients. Now a new DNA test may be able to predict what medication will be most effective based on gene variants. Sounds promising, but does it work?

Fifty is the new thirty -- but that doesn’t mean that as you age, you can live like a college kid. Follow these simple steps to help ensure that you thrive for years to come. Plus: when should women get screened for breast cancer?